As a lot of you know, there was a very shocking murder of a taxi driver committed by Japanese tourists in Siem Reap. I went there a few days after the case was reported. If I’m being honest, as it was right after the case, I was not feeling comfortable about going there. Once people knew that I was from Japan, it naturally came up in conversation. It was nice to hear that most people I talked to told me that their good impression of the Japanese hadn’t changed with only one incident after receiving so much support including ODA projects from Japan. However, when I put myself in their shoes, I thought I wouldn’t talk badly about Japanese in front of someone who’s nothing to do with the case only because he’s from Japan so I couldn’t accept their words straight. And actually, there should be some people who have changed their impression of the Japanese after what happened this time.
Once you step outside of your country, you should always keep in mind that the way you behave represents your country and your country is evaluated based on it. It sounds so ordinary and I think I was paying enough attention to it when I just moved to Cambodia but when I look back at how I behaved recently, I might have acted foolishly sometimes. In the meantime, how you serve as a good model of the country is a difficult challenge.
Most of us, Japanese in Cambodia, are here to work. We come here to win the competition with others and show results. As long as it is business, we can’t always be good-natured. It is sometimes necessary to put stress on others to make an extra value. Whether you always act easy-going and show your emotional leeway or be strict on others and be more strict on yourself depends on you. The balance between them is very delicate to adjust therefore each of us constantly thinks and practices.
The new imperial era “Reiwa” starts on May 1st. Before the begging of the new era, I think I have to spend Khmer New Year taking a look at myself again.
Day-to-day behavior
